The group used data from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as public data from the university and colleges’ websites, U.S. News & World Report, and The National Center for Education Statistics to develop their rankings.

“Being part of a large campus community, we all have to stay diligent to stay safe,” said Oakland University Police Chief Mark Gordon. “This data analysis lends support to our feeling that Oakland University continues to be one of the safest college and university environments in the state.”

College Choice writes this in its summary of Oakland University:

“At Oakland, safety does not just imply a lack of crime, it includes a holistic approach to health and happiness. The Office of Environmental Health and Safety is made up of a professional team who oversees the many aspects of a vibrant and secure campus: occupational health, construction safety, fire safety, and environmental protection. Clearly the team continues to be successful as Oakland’s criminal offenses are mostly limited to petty thefts.”

“We were flattered they called out our department as a strength contributing to Oakland’s safety ranking,” said Cora Hanson, Manager, Environmental Health and Life Safety. “We also know it is the teamwork approach by our entire community - from the OUPD to faculty to staff to students that really makes our campus as safe as possible.”

College choice assessed these grades to Oakland in their report:

General safety grade: 82% This score takes into account three years of theft, assault, arson and other crimes.

Anti-discrimination grade: 99.3% This score reflects the number of hate crimes reported by a school over the past three years.

Women’s safety grade: 95.6% This score reflects the overall Violence Against Women Act offenses in the past three years, including domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault.

Party culture grade: 99.3% This score takes into account the number of drug and alcohol incidents a campus reported over the past five years.

Fire safety grade: 100% This score reflects the number of reported fires over the past three years.

Choosing a college is one of those monumental life decisions. College Choice offers numerous free online resources to help in a college search, including their unique student-centered college rankings, admissions advice, scholarship and financial aid information, and much more. At College Choice students and their families will find the information needed to choose, get into, pay for, and thrive at the best college for them.

College Choice’s ranking system placed OU at No. 7 on the list overall.